Childsmile’s success highlighted at international conference

The success of Childsmile, the oral health initiative that has greatly improved the oral health of Scotland’s children, as well as saving the NHS £5m a year, was outlined at a press conference jointly hosted by Colgate and the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) 2015.

The initiative’s progress was presented by Lorna Macpherson, professor of Dental Public Health at the University of Glasgow Dental School and co-director of Childsmile. She said: “A strategic review of Childsmile is underway to further refine the programme with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities… What’s needed now is further work at national and local community levels to support families and reduce the inequalities both in dental health and access to dental services.”

The programme focuses on preventive care for children, which involved a change to the primary care dental contract in Scotland, and providing support to families via community-based support workers, and tooth brushing programmes across Scotland in nursery and primary schools. Additionally, over 300,000 applications of fluoride varnish have occurred in the past year.

Having outlined its benefits and success to date, Prof Macpherson said that they are not resting on the laurels of their success, and also highlighted the factors that influence GDPs in regards to fluoride varnish. They included knowledge of the guidance of the guidance on fluoride varnish; awareness of parents’ views and desires for varnish to be applied to their children’s teeth; and belief that it’s an important contribution to their role in preventive oral care.

Also, Colgate announced the finalists and winner of its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures™ (BSBF) awards which are conducted with IAPD. The overall winner was Dr. Francisco Ramos Gomez from the USA, for the programme: “Infant Oral Care Programme and Protocol (IOCP) Based on the Mother and Youth Access (MAYA) and the Glass Ionomer Sealant and Fluoride Varnish (GIFVT) Clinical Trials.

The SHA lost a million trying to bring in fluoridation to Southampton against the wishes of the people. All other attempts to improve children's teeth had failed. Why? This shows Child Smile works?